The fourth-gen Kia Carnival MPV has received a five-star safety rating in the most recent round of the Australian NCAP crash test. Keep in mind that this safety rating is valid on all variants and powertrain options available with the 2021 Kia Carnival in Australia. The MPV scored particularly well in the adult occupant protection and child protection categories.

The Kia Carnival achieved a 90 percent rating, scoring 34.54 points out of a possible 38 points. Furthermore, it got perfect scores in the side-impact, oblique pole, and rescue and extraction tests. In the frontal offset test (where it scored 5.98 of 8 points), the readings indicated adequate protection for the upper and lower legs of the driver and upper legs of the passenger. Protection was good for all other critical body regions. The front structure of the Kia Carnival also presented a low-moderate risk to the occupants of an oncoming vehicle. Moving on to the child occupant protection category, the MPV managed an 88 percent rating, scoring 43.52 points out of a possible 49 points.

Impressively, the Kia received perfect scores for child protection in both, the front and side-impact tests. The only area it really lost points was in the onboard safety technology tests.In the safety assists category, too, the Carnival performed well, getting an 82 percent rating, scoring 13.25 points out of a possible 16 points. The trim of the Carnival that was tested came with a slew of safety features, including autonomous emergency braking (AEB), lane support system (LSS) with lane keep assist (LKA), a speed assistance system (SAS), blind-spot monitoring (BSM)system, and seatbelt reminders. All systems performed well in tests, only just missing out on perfect scores.

The only category the new Carnival didn’t score very well in was the vulnerable road user protection, as it only scored 36.91 points out of a possible 54, securing a 68 percent rating. The AEB system only performed adequately when it came to detecting pedestrians and cyclists and then coming to a halt. In Australia, Kia offers both, diesel and petrol engine options with the Carnival. The diesel engine is a 2.2-liter, turbocharged unit developing 201hp and 440Nm, while the petrol engine is a larger 3.5-liter, V6 unit producing 294hp and 355Nm. Both engines are available with an 8-speed automatic gearbox.